ticking/grinding from inside PC

[WZRD_RPG]

Hello, a few days ago my desktop suddenly started making this noise:

[MEDIA=youtube]NbRgPSHFFGQ[/MEDIA]

this noise continues as my PC runs.

Here are my pc specs:

AMD Ryzen 5 3600 CPU

MSI X570-A PRO MB

AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT 6GB GPU

16GB DDR4-3200MHz ADATA XPG RGB RAM

512 ADATA XPG m.2 NVMe SSD

The prebuilt I bought is from ibuypower, Gaming RDY EMRRR202, which I can’t find a link to on their website anymore unfortunately. Bought 2 years ago.

I’ve put my ear up to the PSU, hard drive and fans and the noise seems to be coming from the rear fan area or around the CPU. PC is working fine and the noise is barely audible with headphones on. It starts a second or so after the fans power up when booting the system. Temperatures checked with Ryzen master don’t go above 70 when playing games.

This liquid cooling system for the CPU from this company is apparently known to have some weird problems and make similar noises to what I’m hearing. Moving the cables around to give them clearance made the noise stop for about a minute, but I honestly don’t want to move things around too much in there with how little I know about what exactly I’m touching.

My question right now is would it be safe to disconnect the CPU cooling fan on my motherboard to check if this is indeed making the noise? If it is I think I will try to replace it but moving things around seemed to work for a bit.
I am having trouble finding where the fan cables connect to because they are wired in spaces hidden behind the motherboard but I can see 3 and 4 pin connectors with labels ‘CPU fan’ and ‘Pump fan’.

Thanks for any help

[Pyro]

It sounds like something could be blowing into some fan blades, giving you that “grinding” noise.

Electronics run very particular in terms of heat, even a bit too much can cause cataclysmic damage. If you have a donor cooler from another system possibly, that would be your safest bet.

I would try stopping the fan from spinning and seeing if that does it before pulling the plug.

If you’re convinced it’s coming from the AIO even with the fan stopped, find yourself a donor from another pc and swap them out (with new thermal compound) to test it. (AIOs are inherently noisy, but I would consider this worth investigating).

Finally, if you do choose to pull the plug on the pump, a few things:

The system may give you an error/not boot if it doesn’t detect a CPU fan.

If it does boot, you have mere moments, the computer should be immediately shut-off, there is no more testing to be done other than seeing if it makes the noise when starting.

This is not advisable and I wont recommend it as it could do more harm than good. ^

Hopefully some other members can chime in and give their thoughts and experience.

[Bruce]

sounds like a bad fan bearing.
as Pyro has stated, get a soft bristled brush and push it into that back case fan till it stops, if the noise goes away, you have your culprit.

[WZRD_RPG]

Ok, thank you for the advice.

I tried manually stopping the fan and unfortunately the noise persisted. I also can’t seem to replicate what I did to get the noise to momentarily stop.

I’m like 80% sure its the liquid cooling, idk what else it could be with where it’s coming from in the case. I don’t have a cooler on hand to test and see and I’m ok with purchasing a new one but I’d want to make sure I actually need it.

Is booting up with the CPU fan off more trouble than its worth? I’d rather pay the price of a new CPU cooler than a new CPU so to speak.

[Rustys]

Stop the fans on the GPU and PSU.

What storage do you have in the system?

[Bastet]

Do you have a HDD or SSD? If HDD then the drive may be failing.

[WZRD_RPG]

Ok, is it ok to manually stop the GPU and PSU fans? should I do it through BIOS or something?

An SSD is installed in the system, specifically 512 ADATA XPG m.2 NVMe SSD

[Pyro]

If you do it carefully as Bruce suggested (a soft bristle brush), there will be no damage, none of the advisors or support staff on this forum will ask you to do something if it could cause harm to your pc.

That being said, never be afraid to ask.

[Bruce]

+1 with Pyro - plus we would never suggest anything we haven’t done ourselves - many times!

[WZRD_RPG]

Ok, thanks so much. I assumed so, I am just wary of doing just about anything with my PC so I wanted to make sure I wasn’t misunderstanding.

Well I’ve paused the GPU and PSU fans now and the noise continued throughout both.

[Rustys]

If you are unsure would rather you verify what you are asked to do, then just doing.

Have all of the fans been paused that are in the system including the PSU?

Is the SSD screwed in?

Everything attached is secure like it should be.

What is connected externally to the system.

[Pyro]

Being wary is a good thing, we’ve seen some people that aren’t as careful.

That being said, PCs are pretty robust, and there’s no magic to them. As long as you’re grounded and you do your due diligence not to force, crack, break, or bend anything you will be just fine. And if you do break something, it’s a great excuse to learn how to replace it; Some lessons are learned by making an error and then correcting it, and that’s okay.

I’ve stopped fans using just my finger on the puck in the center, but a brush is a lot safe since you are less likely to break or bend a blade. As long as you’re careful, think things through, and ask when you’re not sure, you will be just fine.

[WZRD_RPG]

I have paused the fans I can see in the case. So the rear fan in the video, the front case fans and the fans on the GPU, I haven’t paused the PSU fan yet, my PC case has an extra piece covering it and the SSD.
I will have some time today and tomorrow to look at it some more and find a way to remove the covering, try pausing the PSU fan, check on the SSD and report back.

Thanks again for all the help so far! Helping to put my mind at ease.

[Rustys]

I will have some time today and tomorrow to look at it some more and find a way to remove the covering, try pausing the PSU fan, check on the SSD and report back.

Going to stop you there and tell you to use a straw or something nonmetallic to hold the fan in place.

Taking it, you have not found what is causing the clicking sounds?

The reason asking about the SSD was some vibrate and if they are not bolted down can cause this.

What is connected externally to the system.

[phillpower2]

I will have some time today and tomorrow to look at it some more and find a way to remove the covering, try pausing the PSU fan,

In addition to that advised by Russ, disconnect the power cords from both the GPU and SSD and then power up the PC, this will reduce the load on what will be a poor quality PSU, the PC will obviously not boot but if the noise changes in any way it points towards the PSU being the most likely culprit.